Information Technology portfolio

Creating better units and improving the student experience in the ITO portfolio was my main stretch goal that I delivered on for 2023, including Master of IT and Graduate Certificate of IT and Graduate Diploma of IT.

There are other vast improvements in the portfolio that outweigh statistics.

• With my leadership, the Monash Online LD team began approaching the builds differently
• My passion for designing and teaching this content well really lifted up the courses
• Integration of Ed STEM platform for most asynchronous discussions and educator interactions in all ITO subjects
• My collaboration with OES STEM specialist LD was a valuable partnership for the ITO portfolio

DATA

The SETUs have improved on average by slightly over the 0.5 metric that we set.

Your leadership in the ITO space is astonishing to see- when I first started in this team, the ITO units were reviled by the team but you have come in and made them better, and enjoyed working on them, even managed to get the rest of the team enjoying them a bit more. This is an enormous help to both me and the broader Monash LD team. Thank you.

OES Lead Learning Designer
February 2023

Leigh, thanks for supporting everyone with your expert Moodle knowledge, and for all your work across the ITO portfolio juggling multiple builds.

OES Lead Learning Designer
31 March 2023

You have changed the way the team think about ITO units and that’s refreshing.

OES Lead Learning Designer
July 2023

AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia

I developed an interactive to display the AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia for Monash Online's ITO5205 Data in society Indigenous Data Soverignty module.

The map makes use of the Easy Zoom platform for exploring large images in detail.

I redeveloped the same content for QUT You's QUT002 Walking on Country unit.

Oh you absolute legend - this is fabulous.
This is exactly what I wanted the students to be able to do.
Thank you!!!!

OES Senior Learning Designer
8 May 2024

LD Lounge (ITO4131 Java programming)

As Senior Learning Designer, I was tasked to invent a system to track changes to units that needed to cycle elements each time they would run for Monash Online. 

Rather than rely upon an external platform to hold this information, I developed the 'LD Lounge' in collaboration with our Learning Design Assistant (LDA); an area in Moodle, hidden from students, for LDs and LDAs to visit whenever the unit is rolled-over and various items need to be updated. The idea is similar to the 'OLA Lounge', a concept that OES uses for unit teaching teams.

In the case of ITO4131 Java programming, the assigned game that the students would build would be changed each teaching period, as would the quiz questions from the question bank. 

The LD lounge is the ideal place to note these changes because the data would carry over into the next teaching period with the rest of the unit.

The ITO4131 Java programming LD Lounge is going to be my one-stop-shop for what to update when I'm doing this rollover.
Lets put it into ITO4132 next!

OES Learning Design Assistant
23 October 2023

🏠 Stages Building (ITO5136 Software development)

I developed a 'stages' approach to LD building in which LDs are encouraged to build more efficiently by focussing on particular tasks in stages across a buld project.

You have a clear vision for your builds and bring people on board in a structured way

360° survey - co-worker feedback
February 2023

Yeah I love this Leigh. Keen to see you and the team try this out for ITO5136- perhaps tracking progress with these stages/items as subitems in Monday?

OES Lead Learning Designer
November 2023

Watch the following video in which Leigh and the team discuss the benefits and future developments of the stages building approach as implemented in the ITO5136 build. The video also illustrates how these stages have become incorporated as part of the team's Monday.com planning boards.

ITO4001 Foundations of computing

I managed workloads for Monash Online’s ITO4001 Foundations of Computing unit build. I worked with the academic team at Monash University to develop suitable materials for online learning. 

With competing priorities, I managed the build time by building an initial module for other LDs to emulate and instructed my team to follow the design. 

I also worked with OES’ LD STEM specialist to develop and produce interactive activities.

You feel more confident in the area of workflow and allocating out work to the team.

OES Lead Learning Designer
July 26 2023

Monash Online Digital Learning Ecosystems

I contributed to the development of Monash Online ecosystems orientation project. The project identified a need for a clear articulation of the set of tools that students use to study at Monash Online.

As a learning design leader in the IT portfolio, I contributed sections about the EdSTEM platform to the project.

Monash University & Online Education Services (OES) won Platinum in the 2023 LearnX awards for Best Digital Learning Ecosystem (DLE) in the Best Learning & Talent Tech category for the Digital Learning Ecosystems project.

The following video is the IT focused student-facing Monash Online ecosystems orientation which includes material about the EdSTEM platform for students studying information technology courses.

Video content reproduced with permission from OES and Monash Online.

Embedded questions (ITO4001 Foundations of Computing)

In order to enhance student learning experience, I harnessed the Moodle quiz embedding functionality to embed check-your-understanding quiz questions throughout the learning material in Monash Online's ITO4001 Foundations of Computing unit. 

The quiz embedding approach had multiple uses and supported business goals arond pedagogical application of technologies (new and existing) that enhance student experience.

the students enjoyed the unit and they appreciated the examples, exercises, quizzes, etc embedded in the unit, which they found quite effective for their learning.

Monash Associate Professor
October 2023

Moodle pages and video content presented with permission from OES and Monash Online.

Watch the following video which in which Leigh presents the concept to a Hot-takes session.

Ed platform

For Monash Online's Information Technology portfolio of units, I redeveloped the use of the Ed STEM platform.

I developed a more efficient method for the creation of new Ed shells, improving Monash Online's rollover and set-up procedures.

I improved the messaging to students about the uses and functions of the Ed platform which appear in Module 0.

I developed the Monash Online code repository to include a section on Ed, so that LDs embarking on building any IT unit can utilise consistent resources.

Despite tricky IT builds, you find ways to make them accessible for the students and optimise their experience.

OES Learning Designer
July 2023

The following image captures the Ed Moodle page from the Monash Online Code repository.

Lightboard studio (ITO4001 Foundations of computing)

I had the opportunity to work with Monash University IT academics and OES multimedia specialists develop more engaging video content using the Lightboard studio for Monash Online's ITO4001 Foundations of computing.

The Lightboard is a clear, side-lit glass pane for presentations, allowing the presenter to remain visible while writing with neon markers. Software flips text, and digital overlays enhance visuals.

For ITO4001, the mixture of slide content and penwork was often more engaging and the use of this filming technique humanised the practice of mathematics. For future Lightboard use a more complete powerpoint template and OES processes could be developed to refine the process futrther.

That lightboard stuff... I think that looks amazing, that video ...

OES Lead Learning Designer
31 July 2023

Far out, this is cool
OMG how cool is this!!!
Wonder where else we could access this for our other partners??

OES Senior Learning Designer
31 July 2023

Moodle pages and video content presented with permission from OES and Monash Online.

Watch the following LD Team Showcase event in which Leigh and colleagues present some of the successes and pitfalls of our recent lightboard studio usage for ITO4001.

This is super cool, hope we can MacGyver one of our own together!
Was just thinking this could work for Psych Stats units in SOL maybe

OES Learning Designer
31 July 2023

Very cool, so you can add your own graphics on the screen including their writings

Construct Learning Design Assistant
31 July 2023

Thanks for another fantastic showcase!

OES Director of Learning Design
31 July 2023

Recycling embedded content

In order to maximise build efficiency, I developed a system in Moodle for interchanging embedded content using embeddable quiz questions. 

The quiz embedding approach had multiple uses and supported the following business goals around reduced time or costs for BAU processes.

Amazing!
This is amazing. I have built many question banks but I've never embedded those on the PAGE!!

OES Senior Learning Designer
2 August 2023

Moodle pages and video content presented with permission from OES and Monash Online.

Watch the following video which in which Leigh presents the concept to a Hot-takes session.

Modular content for ITO5217 Natural Language Processing

I developed an effective new graphic design for the presentation of learning materials in Moodle's long scroll for Monash Online's ITO5217 Natural Language Processing in TP4 2023.

The following images capture the Moodle pages and display the modular content for ITO5217 Natural Language Processing.

VoiceThread

In collaboration with my Monash Online colleagues, I developed procedures for the use of VoiceThread through the trial of the platform in ITO5205. 

This work involved introducing the video discussion platform to students, academics and teachers, and encouraging them to engage in discussions. 

In the case of ITO5205: Data in society, this was about the use of personal data in the health industry.

Poll everywhere

I introduced the Poll Everywhere platform to the Monash Online learning design team and developed its usage in many different units.

For ITO5205 Data in society, I developed a unique usage where students's poll responses are captured in one part of the module, and then reviewed much later, after students have encountered the learning materials.

The Everyday surveillance – China's social credit system case study, asked students to record their preconceptions about China's social credit system at the beginning of the case study. Later students are asked to reflect upon their earlier prevconceptions after they ahve engaged with the intervening the myth-dispelling learning content.

Moodle pages presented with permission from OES and Monash Online.

The fololowing image captures the Poll everywhere platform displaying students previously captured responses, enabling student reflection on their preconceptions.

Assessment scaffolding for ITO5205 Data in society

I led the learning design team in converting Monash's capstone ITO5205 from an on-campus delivery to online delivery for Monash Online.

The unit requires students to undertake assessments which are atypical in ITO units so, just as in the on-campus delivery, a lot of scaffolding was required to help students make the academic adjustment.

I developed the Grade Booster structure throughout the unit. Each Assessment Booster was a weekly deep dive into the assessment requirements for that week, giving students guided detail on the week's assessment requirements, including an analysis of the grading criteria.

ITO5205 was a good example of tying authentic assessment to the learning materials and a co-design approach with Monash academics and teaching staff to develop authentic assessment approaches.

it is looking good - many thanks for everyone's hard work.

Monash univeristy - Academic Unit Designer
December 2022

The following image captures the Assessment Booster page dedicated Assessment 2: Privacy impact assessment.

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Another assessment scaffolding structure I developed for this unit was the Research Resource block. Blocks appeared throughout the unit's learning materials. Each block highlighted a resource which students may opt to use for their final Ethical design report assessment

 

Pass-rate data indicated that the scaffolding structures in place in the unit were effective in allowing students to successfully tackle the unfamiliar assessment types.

DATA

Pass rate TP1-23: Pass rate = 100%

Moodle pages presented with permission from OES and Monash Online.

The following image captures the Research Resource block on the 'Scenario 1: The company want my data' page in the Digital Health case study.

H5P lead-in sentences for ITO5147 Data exploration and visualisation

I developed a special approach to instructing student in the use of H5P interactives for Monash Online's ITO5147 Data exploration and visualisation for TP2 2023.

Using Font Awesome icons, CSS abd Bootstrap styling, I emulated the buttons and controls of the H5P interactives and included those into the instructions for the activity.

By surrounding the activity and the instructions in a shadow box, it appears to students that the instruction sentence is an integrated part of the H5P itself.

The following images capture the use of H5P in ITO5147 Data exploration and visualisation.

ITO5147 Data visualisation

I respectfully disagreed with ITO5147 academic over pedagogic direction of the unit, but was able to develop a respectful collaboration.

good to see you noting how you worked well with a very challenging stakeholder in ITO5147!

OES Lead Learning Designer
May 2023

DATA

ITO5147 Data exploration and visualisation TP2-23: Pass rate = 100%

I'm comfortable delegating tasks to other LDs. I entrusted the development of ITO5147 H5P activities and HTML embedding to our LDA while I was on leave.

Watch the following video in which Leigh provides instructions for some of the Bootstrap code elements which needed to be included into ITO5147 in Moodle.

Panopto for ITO5212 Data analytics for semi-structured data

I collaborated with academic unit designer to develop a system of video chaptering to present long lecture content for Monash Online's ITO5212 Data analytics for semi-structured data TP5 2022.

Using my knowledge of Panopto's editing features, it was possible to break down the on-campus lecture material into manageable pieces for students' learning.

In order to reduce the number of short videos for students, I supplied instructions how to navigate around within the longer videos to find the highlighted sections. Rather than present lecture recordings as a whole, I grouped the lecture content around boarder lecture themes within Moodle books, to provide a manageable sections dealing with related concepts.

Instructional lead-in text was added to alert students to the presence of the video table of contents with chapters targeting each lecture topic.

Leigh Canny has already done a pretty great job at including the turotial walkthroughs with chaptering

OES STEM specialist LD
June 2022

The following image captures the interactivity in embedded Panopto content covering singular value decomposition (SVD) techniques in ITO5212 Data analytics for semi-structured data.